Learn about the Pythagorean Cup, the oldest engineering trick from history
If you search on the Internet for the Pythagorean Cup and see a picture of it, you may think that it is an ordinary cup from the outside, but in reality it is not. It has a pole in the middle whose job is to pour the drink from the cup when the cup owner decides to pour more drink for himself, it is a cup designed for the greedy.
In fact, ancient humans liked to joke and deceive each other just as much as we do, some deception is centuries old. One of the most famous tricks from Greece is a trick designed by the famous philosopher and mathematician (Pythagoras), known for his famous theory, but it seems that the scientist was a funny person, so he decided to invent what we call today “the Pythagorean Cup”.
By the way, this cup is built according to very clever engineering, and we can still use it today to deceive people. Here is the history of this trophy and the geometry responsible for the trick's success.
Longitudinal section of the Pythagorean Cup. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Unlike traditional cups that contain a chamber to contain the drink, the Pythagorean cup was provided with a small column in the middle, and this column has a unique design, it is installed on the bottom of the cup, and hollow so that the liquid is allowed to move to the bottom of the cup, and there is a small hole in the bottom for the liquid to leak.
As for the arrival of the liquid to the bottom, it is carried out by twisting the column, allowing the liquid to reach the bottom of the column from the cup. When you fill the cup with the drink to a level lower than the height of the column, you can drink without the liquid leaking, but when the level of the drink exceeds the height of the column, you will be fooled (Pythagoras).
If you've heard of covered utensils - in the animation above - it's somewhat similar. Imagine that we joined several containers (utensils) together, and filled one of them with liquid. The liquid will settle at the same level in all the containers regardless of the shape or size of each container, and if we continue pouring the liquid into any of the containers, it will settle at a new level that is the same in all the containers.
Notice in Figure C that the liquid does not spill out of the cup because it is below the column level, but when the liquid level exceeds the height of the column, it travels according to fluid mechanics to reach the bottom of the cup and leaks out of the opening.
Here again, when the cup is filled with water to a level greater than the height of the column, the fluid will move thanks to the torsion towards the small hole at the bottom of the bottom of the cup, and then continue its path up inside the column and eventually descend towards the outer hole at the base of the cup. In this case, what is known as a siphon is formed, which is a device for carrying liquid from one level in one vessel to a lower level in another vessel through a tube, and thus, the liquid inside the entire cup will move to the outer opening and end.
If you try to fill the cup by continuously pouring liquid, you will not get any result, and you will notice that the liquid has disappeared even if you keep pouring.
History of the hoax
Although it is called the "Pythagorean Cup", it is difficult to ascertain the identity of its inventor, but there is a consensus that the inventor is (Pythagoras). The scientist and philosopher lived between 570 and 495 BC, and although the date of the invention of the cup is not known precisely, it is likely that it appeared in the middle of the sixth century BC. According to one mythical story, Pythagoras invented this cup to punish his peers who fill their cups with wine out of greed, and for this reason, the cup is sometimes called "the cup of the greedy".
There are other theories that say that (Pythagoras) invented that cup to remind people of the need for moderation in drinking. As we explained earlier, you can drink from the cup as long as the liquid level does not exceed the height of the column. In any case, whether it was invented to punish cravings or to remind people of moderation, it is clear that the cup is still a wonderful engineering tool, and remains a common and practical trick.
Archaeologists have found other copies of the cup dating back to the fourth century AD, including Roman designs. There is also a "tantalus pot" that works in much the same way. And (Tantalus) in Greek mythology is a mythical character who was condemned to stand in a water reel forever, whenever he wanted to drink from it, the water level in it receded, so the man could not quench his thirst.
?How to make a Pythagorean cup to deceive your comrades
You can find many Pythagorean cups on online stores, such as Amazon.Image: Amazon
If you want to try this trick on your acquaintances, it is not at all difficult. There are many methods that can be tried at home. If you can buy the "Pythagorean Cup" from the Internet, it is definitely easy. But there are other ways, such as sculpting from clay, just like the Greeks.
There are many videos that teach beginners how to sculpt, specifically the Pythagorean Cup – you can check out the video attached to the article.
You can also design a Pythagorean cup from simple kitchen utensils, just use a plastic cup and a straw. In this video from TheDadLab, you will notice that the method is very easy and even a child can learn it. The problem here is that you will be using a plastic cup, so the internal components will be visible to the eye, you will not be able to do the trick, but it is still a funny science experiment that you can even teach your children!
All you have to do is make a hole in the bottom of the cup, push the trowel into it and make sure it is bent at the top, and make sure that there is a gap between the tip and the base of the lantern. Then they closed the hole where you entered the spark, and we're done.
There are several things we have learned from the Pythagorean Cup, the first of which is that the ancients had their own sense of humor, and they were deceiving each other just as we do today, but in scientific and engineering ways as well. Second, you can learn some scientific stuff and theories, specifically about the motion of fluids. Finally, it's fun!
Whether you are someone who likes to fool their friends, or you are really bored, or if you are a teacher who wants to give your students a fun science experience, we really recommend you to give this mug a try.
Source: websites